We are pleased to present a week of presentations of the online residency ‘Subtropical
Cultures’.
Often, when painful political and historical contexts are obfuscated, art has the potential to become a ‘sharp weapon’ and draw the attention of the whole generation, moreover, of the whole society, to the most pressing political or social issues and present differences of opinion that political or historical narratives tend to avoid.
The aim of the project was precisely to create a platform through contemporary art where new lines of intersection would emerge for the parties separated by armed conflicts; a space to exchange information, vision and thought.
Georgian, Abkhazian and Serbian artists were invited to participate in the residence.
Researchers and specialists from Tbilisi and Sukhumi worked with the group of artists. Through online meetings, participants had the opportunity to discuss historical, socio- political narratives and future perspectives.
The participating artists created artworks around the themes raised. They travelled through history, personal and public archives, attempted to create parallel realities with the help of
poetry and fantasy, observed banal everyday life, and asked tough questions to turn attention to self-reflection.
Participating artists: Anna Dziapshipa, Ana Gzirishvili, Zura Jishkariani, Archip Labakhua, Sophio Medoidze, Mariam Natroshvili & Detu Jincharadze, Anton Ocharov and Slobodan Stosic.
Programme:
April 1st
“Subtropical Cultures”
15.00-20.00
Exhibition opening/Meeting with the artists
18:30
“Lost in Meanings”
Meeting with artists: Anna Dziapshipa, Ana Gzirishvili, Mariam Natroshvili. Moderator: Elene Kapanadze
April 3rd
“Salty Taste of The Black Sea”
16:00
Screening of the photo projects produced in Abkhazia by international artists in different years. The slideshow has been produced for Tbilisi Photo Festival 2018.
Works by Eric Baudelaire, Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos, Anna Dziapshipa, Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos, Maria Gruzdeva, Yuri Kozyrev/Noor, Justyna Mielnikiewicz/MAPS, Gueorgui Pinkhassov/ Magnum Photos.As well as selection of photographs from family albums, the collection of image of anonymous Polish tourists’ photo archives and short documentaries from the 1970s.
Hybrid event
Meeting with photographers Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos and Justyna
Mielnikiewicz/MAPS.
Moderator – Elene Kapanadze.
April 7th
“It’s clear, neither today, nor this week…”
18:00
Talk between historian David Jishkariani, philosopher George Maisuradze and political scientist Paata Zakareishvili.
*Due to COVID-19 recommendations for a single entrance only 30 visitors are allowed to attend the event.
The residency program was implemented in partnership with MagiC Carpets – a
Creative Europe platform.
Tbilisi Photo Festival is the first photo festival in Georgia and the South Caucasus. It was founded in 2010 by a French photographer, currently the photo editor of the French daily newspaper Liberation, Lionel Charie, and a Georgian curator and journalist, Nestan Nizharadze. The festival was created with the support of the prestigious Arles Photo Festival Les Rencontres d’Arles and, soon, gained a reputation as a cultural manifestation of the leading regional mass. For the last 10 years, Tbilisi Photo Festival has been using the medium of photography to reflect on the most acute problems of modernity. The identity of the
festival was determined by this approach. In addition, the photo festival has become a hub of
international photography, which, in addition to displaying the works of the great meters of world photography, also contributes significantly to the development of regional photography.
MagiC Carpets is a Creative Europe platform that brings together 15 cultural organizations with an intention to support young artists. As part of the project, the artists travel to a country unknown to them, create new works in collaboration with local artists and social groups, and thus develop cultural activism and engagement. The platform is implemented within the framework of the European program with the support of ‘Creative Europe’ 2014-2020.
